


don't make me fall in love again (santa tell me)

by ninglovr



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Enemies to Lovers, Established Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, M/M, Mentioned Huening Kai, Wedding Planning, YEONJUN AND SOOBIN ARE GETTING MARRIED WOOHOOO, alternate universe - wedding planners, beomgyu is married to christmas, how do i tag help, hueningkai is my bias but he is there only for a moment, i can show that taegyu is fluff, some christmas magic why not, taegyu are cuties change my mind, taehyun is married to his planner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:35:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28290252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninglovr/pseuds/ninglovr
Summary: Planning his cousin's wedding, just before Christmas, with less than three months to pull it off? No problem for Kang Taehyun. Planning it with an annoying, Christmas-crazy Choi Beomgyu as his partner? That might just be a problem... or it might turn into a kind of Christmas miracle.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 5
Kudos: 91





	1. Yeonjun's annoying cousin

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first au, so i hope you like it ! also, merry christmas everyone <3  
> you can follow me on my twitter @PLSH1E02 :)
> 
> [a/n this work is not edited so pardon my mistakes please :3]

**TAEHYUN**

"So with this seating chart, we should have a solid chance that no one will get killed during your wedding."

  
With one last sweeping glance over the seating chart in question, Taehyun leans back, proud of a job well done. It took him two weeks, a complicated spreadsheet and several table-sized posters to finish it, but he did: His cousin may be getting married to the offspring of the family their own family has been at war with for generations, but there's not going to be any feuding during the wedding – not on his watch.

  
And he does feel very much like it's his job to ensure that, because it may be Soobin's wedding, but his cousin is way too busy being in love and coming up with ever more whimsical ideas for games and giveaways and decorations to actually focus on the practical planning for the event. Hueningkai, his bestfriend has just finished Med school and started his internship in a hospital across the country, so while he would be helpful, but Taehyun has no intention of adding wedding planning on top of his already stressful schedule. And sure, his own schedule is stressful enough, considering he only just started as a junior partner at the city's most reputable law firm and has yet to snag his first client – but he certainly won't let his aunt take over and turn this wedding into a flashy, stuffy affair aimed exclusively at getting a write-up in the local paper. No, he'll simply have to plan this thing alone, he decided.

Luckily, Taehyun loves planning things.

  
Unluckily, he's been burdened in his task with a partner and, well, there's not much love lost between them.

  
The moment he heard that Yeonjun and Soobin were planning to get married with a big party just before Christmas, Yeonjun's cousin decided to butt in and “help” with the planning. The happy couple thought it was a great idea, and now instead of getting to plan the party the way he would prefer to, with a strategy and a tight grip on the budget and a folder full of orderly notes, Taehyun has to put up with Yeonjun's annoying cousin from Daegu, who comes up with a new crazy idea every other day, who is incapable of carrying out the simplest of commands and who, worst of all, seems determined to turn the party – which is scheduled for early December – into a second, earlier Christmas.

  
And of course, now too Yeonjun’s cousin can't resist the opportunity to make this moment all about himself and his ideas.

* * *

  
"That's a great plan, Kang, but it doesn't account for the ice sculpture."

  
"That's because there is no ice sculpture."

  
A slow grin appears on his face.

"Oh, but there will be."

  
Soobin shrieks. "You've found a sculptor?"

  
Slowly, Taehyun remembers: They talked about this before, briefly, and Soobin was immediately taken with the idea. But it hasn't been brought up since, and Taehyun has been hoping Soobin would forget about it again.

  
Which he would have, if it weren't for the stupid, too smug for his own good Choi Beomgyu.

  
"Let's just say I know a guy."

  
“You _know a guy?_ Are we planning to hire a hitman?”

  
Beomgyu is unfazed by his sarcastic remark.

  
“That'd be a different guy, Kang – keep up.”

* * *

  
As if that wasn't enough to irritate the hell out of him, Choi actually has the audacity to tap his pen against Taehyun’s nose – a gesture he no doubt considers charmingly irreverent but which just makes him want to slap that patronising grin off his face. Planning this party, during the busiest season of the year, with most of the guests actively hating each other, was complicated enough from the start.

  
Choi Beomgyu has turned it into a nightmare – and he doesn't even seem to realize it.

  
Because while Taehyun is busy laying the groundwork – booking a venue, getting offers from caterers, finding a date that suits most of the people on the guest list – Beomgyu's contribution has mostly been throwing out ridiculous ideas at the worst times, making doodles of statically impossible cakes, and demanding that there be “more Christmas”.  
First, Taehyun thought he was joking. Now, three weeks into the planning, he knows he was not: Beomgyu is hell-bent on turning what Taehyun envisioned as a tasteful, winter-themed event into a red-and-green, cinnamon-scented nightmare – and Yeonjun and Soobin are doing nothing to stop him.

  
Which is a problem, because not only do Beomgyu's ideas have a tendency to be impractical, expensive and completely over the top – all of which, unfortunately, their cousins love – but they're also increasingly putting him on edge.

  
So, as the wedding slowly approaches, Taehyun is quickly approaching the end of his tether – and it's only a matter of time until he reaches it.

  
But right now is not that moment yet – he has an ice sculpture to prevent and a wedding to plan.

  
“Now, next up: I've managed to find one caterer who isn't booked out doing a Christmas party on the day of the wedding, so I've made an appointment to plan a menu...”


	2. a christmas mishap

** BEOMGYU **

Planning his little cousin's wedding is perhaps the most unexpected challenge Beomgyu has ever taken on, but it could also be the most fun – if it weren't for his partner, Soobin’s cousin. It's not that Kang Taehyun is bad at planning – on the contrary, he's approaching the whole thing with the discipline and determination of a General leading his troops into battle.

Considering their cousins decided to get married on a whim and expect them to pull off a miracle of a wedding in less than three months, he already has a lot to show for his efforts by the time he joins in, including a booking for a beautiful venue on three months' notice that Beomgyu is pretty sure he killed someone to get. So, Kang Taehyun’s wedding-planning skills are certainly impressive – it's just that the man himself is impossible to work with. He tries to shoot down all his ideas without even considering them, and seems hell-bent on taking all the fun out of their task.

But worst of all, he's trying to take all the _Christmas_ out of their party – and that is where Beomgyu has to draw the line.

Especially when his protest erupts, once again, over what he thinks is his finest idea yet.

* * *

“A Gingerbread House? You're proposing a Gingerbread House as a wedding cake?”

“It will go beautifully with the theme, and Yeonjun and Soobin will love it. It's... whimsical.”

“It's ridiculous.”

“Just because you don't have a sense of humor doesn't mean no one else can appreciate a fun twist on a boring old wedding cake.”

“It's not about humor. It's about the fact that this whole Christmas thing is getting out of hand.”

Of course he'd be against it, Beomgyu thinks with annoyance – for some reason, that man seems to hate Christmas.

"Because of one gingerbread house?"

"Because of _everything_ you're trying to do! We're planning a wedding, not... Santa's village!"

"Yeah, the wedding of two people who specifically decided to get married just before Christmas because they love it so much! Why take away from that?"

"Because the whole Christmas spirit thing is already out of control. Can't people just have one evening where it isn't being shoved down their throats?"

"What's wrong with a little Christmas spirit?"

"A _little_? Christmas is everywhere. It's a _disease_!"

Beomgyu has been trying to remain calm, his questions only meant to gently probe into his reason for being so adamantly anti-Christmas. But now that he's heard that reason, he can't help but be a little offended.

“A disease? Christmas is the best part of the year! The one thing that gets us all through the darkest nights, brings us together with our families, reminds us that there's light in the world and joy in giving. Christmas is...” He has a whole speech ready for this, because he's had similar arguments with Jaemin who only ever appreciates Christmas for the chance to sneak into office parties and make out with drunk partygoers.

But Taehyun, to add rudeness to the list of reasons he's driving him crazy, simply cuts him off. "Look, not everyone loves Christmas as much as you do, alright? So can we just hit pause on the whole "merry and bright"-bullshit for a moment and get this wedding organized?“

That completely throws him for a loop.

He's already blown his speech on Christmas – a speech that successfully persuades Jaemin to come to his uncle's Christmas dinner every single year – and Beomgyu doesn't know what else to say to make his point. But that doesn't mean he'll let him have the last word.

"Honestly, what kind of monster doesn't like Christmas?"

He didn't think his muttered words would have much of an effect, but Taehyun suddenly jumps to his feet, grabs his phone and throws it in his pocket. He pauses only briefly to look at him, pure fire in his eyes, and spew: “You know what? If you love it so much, you can just do the whole thing on your own.“ Then he grabs his jacket and storms out of the coffee shop they'd been sitting in for the last three hours, causing more than a few turned heads on his way out.

“I will!” Beomgyu calls after him, sounding more petulant than he intended. “Just you watch!” The collective heads of the other patrons swivel back as one to glare at him, as if he personally chased Taehyun off with some form of villainy. Beomgyu ignores them – _he's_ not the villain here. Granted, calling Taehyun a monster may not have been the nicest choice of words. But he didn't really mean it – he has to know that, right? In any case, he's not going to sit around wondering if he hurt Kang Taehyun's tender feelings – he has a wedding to plan. And sure, that looks like a daunting task now that Taehyun has stormed off and left behind a folder full of notes and plans that suddenly seems intimidatingly thick.

But how hard can it be, really?

* * *


	3. i cancelled the ice sculpture

**TAEHYUN**

Taking a break from the wedding planning madness is a welcome reprieve, Taehyun finds – although he does find it difficult not to feel at least a little bit guilty about walking away. Then again, Beomgyu was so sure he could do just as good of a job as he can do himself, so what's there to feel guilty about? There will be a wedding with or without him. There's no more need for him to stress himself out fighting with Choi Beomgyu over ice sculptures and gingerbread houses.

Of course, that doesn't stop him from still thinking about the wedding, wondering if the latter followed up with the caterer and decided to place an order for the flowers before it's too late. He spends his nights envisioning the horrors he'll find once Beomgyu is done with his planning: Gigantic ice statues, a buffet that consists entirely of gingerbread cookies, and a décor fresh out of the tackiest shop window.

So, as enjoyable as it is not to be dealing with the Beomgyu's smug attitude, his crazy ideas, and his penchant to flirt with the barista whenever they meet at the coffee shop that has become their base of operations, he's still almost relieved when he calls him one week after he walked out.

“Alright I learned my lesson. Now please come back, Kang.”

Instantly, his relief turns into irritation – a much more reliable feeling when it comes to him, really.

“Why, so you can ignore all my concerns while you push through your Christmas agenda?”

The fact that he doesn't make fun of the phrase “Christmas agenda” is his first clue that things are more dire than he thought.

“Because I need you, okay? I can't plan this thing on my own. And I know you think I'm the scum of the earth for some reason, but I do love my cousin and I want him to have a great wedding. So can we just bury the hatchet until we've pulled this off?”

Taehyun doesn't know what to say. His pleading sounds so earnest – but he doesn't know if it's enough for him to trust him to actually cooperate this time around.

“I cancelled the ice sculpture.”

He blurts it out almost desperately, dropping the words into his silence as if he expects them to magically change his mind. When they don't, he continues:

“You were right, it does take up too much space and will only make a mess.”

Beomgyu is quoting back his exact words from the last time they had a discussion about the ice sculpture, and together with the information that he actually made a concession to his wishes, that's what finally tips him over.

“I made an appointment to talk to the caterer this evening. I hope you haven't cancelled it yet.”

“I haven't,” he says – but just when he thinks that maybe he underestimated him, he adds: “Mostly because I forgot we had that appointment.”

“You're completely fucked without me, aren't you.”

_“Pretty much.”_

Taehyun sighs. A vindictive little part of him still wants to hang up and see him crash and burn. But as Beomgyu himself has pointed out, this isn't about them – it's about giving their cousins a beautiful wedding.

“I'll see you at eight tonight then.”

“Where exactly...”

“I left you my notes. Figure it out yourself.”

He hangs up without another word – he'll have to do _some_ of the work at least.

Still, when he leaves the house to head to their meeting with the caterer later, it is with a sense of relief – even though it was his own choice to bow out of the planning, he felt pretty shitty about it. After all, his cousin is relying on him – and no matter how annoyed he got with Beomgyu and his Christmas madness, Taehyun has never been one to let people down.

* * *

The meeting with the caterer goes well, reasonably, except that Taehyun was hoping they'd be able to score a discount that is elegantly refused. Still, even without it their price is reasonable, and Taehyun is optimistic that they'll get back on track – but they do still have a lot of work ahead of them, and he tells Beomgyu this without any attempt to downplay it.

But Beomgyu is undaunted.

“So you're back in?”

“I am. But I have conditions.”

“They're accepted. All of them.”

“You haven't even heard them yet.”

“I don't have to. I wasn't joking when I said I need you – you'll get whatever you want. I won't even mention Christmas anymore, if it bugs you.”

Again there's his knack for being painfully earnest, the pleading tone of his voice supported by his wide-eyed expression, and again it softens him up even against his will.

“We don't have to drop the Christmas theme entirely. Just... tone it down a little.”

“Can we keep the gingerbread house?”

Taehyun sighs – it's been a long day at work, and then the meeting with the caterer ran longer than he thought it would. He's so exhausted, he didn't even decline his offer of a drive home – he's simply not in the mood to argue with him any more.

“How about a Gingerbread House-themed cake?”

“That's a compromise I'm willing to make.”

The car comes to a stop, and only now does Taehyun realize they're outside his apartment. He suppresses a yawn and starts getting out of the car.

“I'll see you tomorrow after work, same time as always. We'll have a look at what needs doing then.”

Beomgyu nods eagerly.

“Good plan.” And then, just before he's shut the door: “Thank you, Kang. For coming back.”

“Don't make me regret it,” he calls over his shoulder and walks off towards his house without looking back.

Beomgyu drives off without another smart comeback for once.

* * *

But the next day, when he gets to the coffee shop, located exactly midway between their apartments, Beomgyu's there, sitting at their usual table with Taehyun’s folder opened up before him and an extra cup of coffee already on the table for him.

“Black, no sugar. And no cinnamon – this is a Christmas-free coffee.”

Taehyun rolls his eyes – honestly, does he have to act like he's the Grinch? But he sits down and takes the coffee anyway.

“Good. Let's get to work.”

And there's still a lot of work to do, but Beomgyu did not mess up as bad as he thought. He may not be as methodical as he is, but he tried to keep up with everything and even came up with a cute design for the invitations – Christmas-themed, yes, but not nearly as sketchy as he was afraid it would be.

They dive right into it with no further discussion on the nature of Christmas and how much it should play a part in that wedding, and when Taehyun gets up to get his third coffee, he thinks he can say with some confidence that they're making progress. Feeling downright magnanimous, he brings back another coffee for Beomgyu, who seems to really need it: When he joins him at their table, he's currently in the middle of a drawn-out yawn.

He was going to bring up just one more point on their to-do-list. But now that he's noticed one sign of how tired Choi is, he can easily make out more – the dark circles under his eyes, the slumped posture, and the hair that looks like it hasn't seen a comb in a week. Maybe after working through two evenings in a row, he can let him have a break.

“I think we can call it a day. Everything else on the list isn't quite as urgent. The placecards and the guest giveaways we can still come up with some other time.”

Beomgyu nods and smiles gratefully when he sets the coffee down before him.

“Thanks. I am a little tired – things have really been picking up at work lately.”

Taehyun nods understandingly, for once not tempted to say something scathing. When he was first told that he works as an assistant at an art gallery, he thought it was just one of those rich people-things – the kind of job someone who doesn't need to worry about money does for a few hours on the side, until they take that cushy job on the board of the family company. But by now he knows that not only does he actually spend a lot of time at work, but he also does photography gigs on the side, and Taehyun has to admit he does seem to be working hard.

“Because of Christmas?”

He hadn't thought the art world would have a seasonal rush before Christmas, but Beomgyu nods.

“That, and we're putting together a new exhibit – and I'm allowed to curate it. It's the first time my boss let me do it, so it's kind of a make or break-opportunity.”

He hadn't known that, of course, but it makes him feel a little bad about giving him such a hard time. The fact that he's helping with this wedding while he has such a big project going on at work really speaks to his devotion.

“What's it about? The exhibit?”

Beomgyu looks mistrustful for a moment, perhaps unsure what to make of his sudden interest in his work – but he starts to explain anyway.

“It's a mixed-medium, mixed-genre type of thing, but the overarching theme is family. You see...”

Beomgyu launches into an explanation on the concept for his exhibit. There's a lot of art lingo in there that he doesn't understand, but his explanation is so animated, his passion so genuine, that Taehyun finds he doesn't mind. Leaning back, he keeps sipping on his coffee as she listens, unsure how much time passes – until suddenly, the scrape of a chair makes him look up, and he realizes the barista has begun putting up chairs on the tables, no doubt to clean up and close for the night. They're the only guests still in here, and the barista is not shy about sending signals that they should better get going too – putting things away with impressive clatter, glaring at them whenever she passes by...

Beomgyu notices it too, because he breaks off his explanation abruptly.

“Look at me, rambling on about my exhibit. I hope I didn't bore you.”

“You didn't”, Taehyun says and actually means it, to his own surprise. “But I think the barista wants to close up shop.”

* * *

Beomgyu nods, then gets to his feet and picks up their two coffee mugs to carry them back to the bar while Taehyun packs up their things. He watches him interact briefly with the woman angrily wiping down the counter, and a few smiles later, the barista is looking a lot friendlier and even waves back when they wave goodbye.

“Just making sure we'll be welcome to return here," Beomgyu explains when he sees his amused expression.

“And getting her number?” Taehyun asks teasingly – it sure looked like there was more than small-talk going on just now, although he isn't sure why that should be any of his business.

“Nah, not tonight.”

“Are you saying you already have a date for the wedding?”

Beomgyu freezes mid-movement while holding up the door for him, wide-eyed.

“We need to bring a date?”

"I mean, we don't have to, I just thought you might... What do you usually do at weddings?"

"I hook up with one of the bridesmaids, of course. Or the Maid of Honour." The grin accompanying the words is downright wolfish, and Taehyun blushes when he realises why – the only bridesmaid is his sister, and the Maid of Honour herself.

"You better get yourself a date then, because that is _not_ happening at this wedding."

Beomgyu chuckles.

"We'll see about that."

"Oh, we won't – because if I catch you so much as trying to hit on my sister, you'll be the one turned into an ice statue."

And just to stress that this is where he considers the conversation closed, Taehyun turns left and starts walking home, knowing full well that Beomgyu's way home leads in the opposite direction.

But of course, Beomgyu won't let it rest just like that.

"I'll just have to hit on you then," he suggests cheekily.

"I'd like to see you try."

He throws it back over his shoulder and hears Beomgyu’s laughter behind him even as he speeds up.

_Too late, it occurs to him that what he just said sounded an awful lot like a challenge._

* * *


	4. wine and dine

** BEOMGYU **

Beomgyu is not a proud man, nor, he thinks, is his ego quite as big as Kang Taehyun seems to believe. He can and will admit when he was wrong about something – and it seems like the thing he was wrong about this time was Taehyun himself. It was all too easy to tease him about being a Grinch and to delight in watching him try not to tear out his hair in frustration at his crazy ideas (not bad ideas, he wants to stress, just... creative ones). But having to work on this wedding by himself has taught him that maybe his reasons for being so humorless about the whole thing were, well, not entirely wrong. It is a big project, one that requires a lot of planning and discipline and sensible decisions, and maybe he wasn't really bringing any of those things to the table, before.

So, having once admitted that he was right to approach the wedding-planning the way he did, Beomgyu has no problem taking a leaf out of his book and resolving to be a little more responsible himself, because whimsical ideas are nice, but no matter how convinced he is that the couple will like them, hanging out with Taehyun has taught him that they're not happening unless he really thinks them through, all the way to the boring details.

"Now, I know some of the things I'm envisioning for the flowers won't come cheap, especially the centerpieces. But I've asked around for quotes from florists, and mostly, the expensive stuff gets balanced out by the parts that are cheap, like the fir branches. And besides, I've managed to get the venue to throw in the table cloths and chair covers for free, so that should help the budget."

This leaves Taehyun stunned for a moment, coffee cup hovering halfway to his mouth. Beomgyu can't help but feel smugly proud about it: Clearly, he did not expect him to have thought this through as thoroughly as he did. And before he left, he wouldn't have. But now that he knows just how much work goes into details like quotes and bulk pricing and return policies, he felt bad about leaving all of it to him. And now, with Taehyun staring at him as if he had just invented the wheel, Beomgyu feels like maybe all that hard, boring work was worth it after all.

"You got a deal from the venue? I've been trying to get them to lower the price for the napkins and tablecloths for weeks!"

"I know, which is how I knew they were overpriced in the first place."

"But what did you do to get them to offer it?" His voice goes shrill all of a sudden, his expression suddenly turning to horror.

"You didn't let them talk you into moving to the bigger hall, did you? Because that one is way out of our price range."

" _Relax_ , Kang – I didn't do anything. I just asked again, nicely, and they said yes. Plus, they like me more than you."

Taehyun stares at him distrustfully for a moment, before the penny finally drops.

_"You flirted with the manager."_

"We had a bit of a chat," Beomgyu replies innocently, only to ruin that effect by smiling salaciously as he adds: "Over some wine."

"Oh God, you slept with her, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?" Beomgyu shrugs. "I'm single, she's hot. But just so you know, I did not sleep with her, actually. I took her out for a glass of wine, we chatted, I left things open. And that was after she'd already given me the discount. It's not like I whored myself out to get it."

He says it teasingly, but a small part of him feels stung by how easily the suspicion came to him. Is that really what he thinks of him? He hasn't exactly been living like a monk, that's true, but he's not quite the manwhore he seems to think. But to his surprise, Taehyun's initial disgust at his theory of how he got that discount seems to fade, replaced by sudden interest.

"Think you could take the caterer out for a drink too?"

"Really, Kang? You're pimping me out now?"

"I'm not..." Taehyun starts to protest, and Beomgyu presses a finger to his lips to silence him. “Now, don't be modest – you're finally approaching this project like a true evil mastermind. Own your evil ways.” He slaps away his hand and draws back, and Beomgyu watches him roll his eyes with a laugh.

“Keep going like this, and I'll show you how evil I can be.”

It's an empty threat, of course – and so unlike him that Beomgyu can't resist teasing him a little more, seeing just how far he can push him. He leans forward, taking away the distance he just put between them.

“Is that a promise, Kang?” He holds his surprised gaze for just a moment too long, licks his lips suggestively because dammit, this is fun.

“And here I thought you were a _good boy_.”

He's definitely getting flustered now, he thinks, and then somehow his brain keeps supplying observations about him and begins to comment on how lively that flush in his cheeks makes him look, how long his lashes are when he looks down in embarrassment. And just like that, he's the one feeling flustered. He was aware that he's attractive, obviously, because it's hard to miss, but he hadn't thought about it as something that might affect him – not when he's usually too busy thinking up good comebacks to notice how his eyes sparkle when he's yelling at him.

Now, suddenly, he finds that he might be affecting him very much.

What he doesn't know is how he feels about it.

* * *


	5. hommage to christmas

**TAEHYUN**

Now that they're back on track, the preparations continue with things going just a little smoother each day. Maybe their little blow-up was necessary to clear the air and clear up some misconceptions – like the fact that Beomgyu seems to think his being thorough and methodical is his specific way of torturing him, when really, he just wants to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

And maybe, he has to admit a few nights later, he might have made some incorrect assumptions about him too. Because Beomgyu might be all about the fun, but he doesn't entirely neglect their serious, boring tasks either. When Beomgyu pulls out a lovingly drawn sketch of some stunning table centerpieces, Taehyun assumes it's nothing more than that, a first draft of some outlandish plan that he'll have to figure out how to procure and budget. But Beomgyu surprises him: This time, his suggestion goes beyond a crazy idea and a pretty sketch. He's actually thought about how to budget his proposal, asked for offers from different florists, and figured out a way to make the more extravagant parts of his scheme work with their budget.

In short, he did what he wanted him to do all along and tried to make things easier for him instead of more difficult, and he's so grateful for it that he even forgives him when he follows his brief display of decent behaviour by teasing him mercilessly.

He's making an effort, and he continues to do so for the rest of the preparations. By the time the rehearsal dinner comes around, he really doesn't have anything to complain about – Beomgyu didn't try to bring up the ice sculpture anymore, didn't throw out any new outlandish ideas, and he made sure to take on as much of the actual work as he is. He even seemed worried about him stressing himself out too much over this wedding, especially after he arrived late and frazzled and completely starved after a hectic day at work and he gets it out of him just how much pressure he's under even without the wedding project. That night, Beomgyu dragged him from the coffee shop to a diner and made him sit down and eat an entire burger while he went over all the calculations he meant to do but didn't have time, practically forbidding him from continuing to work, and Taehyun was happy to simply let someone else take the reins and look after himself for once.

So, once the night of the rehearsal dinner comes around, Taehyun can say that they've truly grown into a team, partners working together seamlessly to make this wedding a success. They've gathered the entire wedding party to help set up the venue before heading to the rehearsal dinner, and though he hasn't seen Beomgyu's centerpieces and decorations yet, Taehyun is determined to be magnanimous about them – he knows by now that he really did work hard on them.

Taehyun arrives later than the rest of the party due to a quick detour to the printer to pick up the menu cards, and finds the others already busy folding napkins and setting down place cards. Under Beomgyu’s command, everyone has been busy getting the venue ready, and it shows: Most of the lights and decorations are up, the flowers are laid out or placed into their vases, and everything looks startlingly like it did in Beomgyu's sketch.

And contrary to his earlier concerns, Beomgyu's concept doesn't look tacky at all – it looks _beautiful_.

It explains why Beomgyu always sounds so reverent when he rants about the spirit of Christmas – because this is what he must be seeing before his inner eye: Not the commercialized idea pushed by ads and shopfronts and TV specials but the real spirit of the holiday; the innocent, glorious wonder of a child gazing at the Christmas tree. This is what Christmas is supposed to feel like, what it felt like when they were children and everything was still the way it _should_ be.

For a moment, Taehyun can actually feel it – the waiting, the mounting excitement, that moment of awe when their mother first let them see the beautifully decorated tree and they approached it, slowly and reverently... It causes such a wave of overwhelming nostalgia to hit him that he's completely paralyzed for a moment, struck silent in the doorway of the banquet hall. He's had to do a lot of adjusting of his opinions over the past few weeks, but if he had any doubts left about his partnership with Choi, they're all gone now: Taehyun may have done the heavy lifting on the logistics for this wedding, but Beomgyu?

Beomgyu brought the heart.

Although, to hear him talk, he didn't contribute anything at all: When he finally regains his composure and actually steps into the venue to greet everyone gathered there, Beomgyu immediately launches into a speech on what a great job Taehyun did procuring the venue and the caterer and just all around making the wedding happen, to a point where it sounds like he did it all by himself and Taehyun feels a little embarrassed.

"You make it sound like you didn't do anything – the decorations are all your doing.

And let's not forget," he smiles mischievously, "you were even prepared to sleep with the caterer for cheaper linens."

Hueningkai, Soobin and Yeonjun gasp in shock, Jaemin grins, and Beomgyu just shrugs.

"Anything to make sure this wedding turns out great."

Then, spotting his cousin's scandalized expression, he quickly explains: “I didn't actually sleep with the caterer.” “Good. Because I could have sworn you...” For some reason, Yeonjun breaks off on a strangled squeak just then and never actually ends the sentence. But Taehyun doesn't get around to wondering what he was going to say before he's called away by his aunt who, under the guise of asking about the placecards, takes the opportunity to complain about his seating-chart – something Taehyun has anticipated, but which nonetheless leads to a lengthy, exhausting discussion. The couple may be happy about their wedding, but that does not mean everyone is.

As soon as his aunt is finished trying (and failing) to topple Taehyun's carefully planned seating chart, Yeonjun's father comes up to complain about the size of the gift table – too small, of course, for the staggering amount of presents he expects his son to receive – followed in turn by his own uncle, who is somehow confused that their Christmas-themed, red and green decorative scheme does not contain a nod to the Choi house colour of royal blue (which, who even has house colours anymore?).

After that, Taehyun thinks he's done quite enough arguing about things no one who matters cares about, and silently slips out to the balcony beside the hall, just to get a breather for a moment.

He should feel nothing but relief and happiness right now, because Soobin and Yeonjun like their ideas for the wedding and everything seems poised to go off without a hitch tomorrow. And indeed, he has nothing whatsoever to complain about on that front. (The complaints from the couple's parents were completely expected, and he thinks he handled them reasonably well.) But there's something else rattling around inside him, something knocked loose by the sight of Beomgyu's spot-on hommage to Christmas, and it makes an ache spread inside him that he doesn't know how to stop.

So, he decides, he'll let himself have one moment to deal with it – it's not like anyone is even going to notice he's gone.

* * *


	6. a crush !

** BEOMGYU **

They've finally, actually made it.

Well, not entirely – the wedding isn't until tomorrow. But they've made it to the night before, and not only did they manage not to kill each other, but they even put together what promises to be a decent wedding, Beomgyu thinks.

The only thing missing is the ice sculpture he'd been planning, but maybe Taehyun was right about that being more of a hassle than it was worth it. And in any case, the venue still looks nice, he thinks, festive and cheerful but very much not tacky. He'll have to remember to take Taehyun aside and make him say so, out loud, later – in fact, he's dying to hear Taehyun's thoughts on how it all turned out, because everything he was responsible for has worked out beautifully, and, well, he just wants to be sure that he's also happy with the parts that he was in charge of. Not because of his ego, or so he can rub it under his nose that he is in fact a lot more competent than he first gave him credit for – an instinct that, just a few weeks ago, would have been his driving force, really. But they're friends now, this is no longer about what he did and what he did (a hell of a lot more, if he's honest) but about what they accomplished together. And most of all, it's about the fact that Taehyun has been working his ass off for this wedding and he just wants him to be happy with it – _all_ of it.

(It's not, he tells himself, because he wants him to be happy with him, and what he contributed, or because he knows by now how he looks when he surprises him or because he wants to know how he looks when he's really, truly happy. That has _nothing_ to do with any of it.)

And in any case, it doesn't seem like he'll get to find out just yet, because Taehyun's gone, he realizes suddenly – but even as he's looking around for him, he thinks he sees the door to the balcony swing shut, sees the bright turquoise of his winter coat disappear into the darkness out on the balcony.

He follows it without hesitation, grabbing his jacket off the chair he threw it on earlier to follow him outside into the cold.

"Kang? What are you doing out here?"

Taehyun doesn't even turn around to look at him, and his stomach sinks. Did he misjudge his earlier smile, is he unhappy with the decorations after all?

"I just need a moment of quiet."

His voice implies that she'd like to have that moment alone. But there's something else to it, a weight that can't possibly be attributed to wedding decorations alone, and Beomgyu doesn't like leaving him alone with it. As long as he doesn't outright tell him to go away, Beomgyu decides, he'll be staying right here.

"Are you having a wedding crisis?"

"A what?"

"You know what I mean – that feeling you get when you're watching someone else get married and you think "what about me?", and then you get all mopey and drink too much and hit on the wrong people."

This doesn't really get him an answer, but it does make him smile.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Hey, weddings get to all of us, even the toughest. Are you saying you've never been moping about at a wedding, considering calling your ex?"

"I haven't."

"Come on! At the very least, you've been thinking about texting her."

"I really haven't. It's been months since Yeji and I broke up – I'm absolutely over her."

"Well," he says slowly, needing a moment to deal with the fact that this bit of information makes him strangely happy, "then I guess you're tougher than the rest of us. So what's driving you out here? Is it the decorations? Do you hate them?"

He says it teasingly, but Taehyun's reply comes quickly and earnestly, as if he didn't want him to question himself any longer than necessary. He finds it oddly touching. "I don't hate them. I really like them, actually – I think you've done a great job." Normally, he would make a big deal out of these words, ask him to repeat them so he can gloat about his praise. But he still looks troubled, and he knows this is not the time.

"Seriously though, what's wrong? I promise I won't tell anyone that I caught you having emotions."

"You're an ass."

"Maybe. But I'm an ass who's willing to listen, if you need someone like that." He looks over at him, studying him with a look of uncertainty – then he seems to make a decision.

"I didn't always hate Christmas."

It's such an out-of-nowhere statement that Beomgyu has no idea what to reply. But perhaps a reply isn't needed anyway, because Taehyun is already explaining.

"Back when my parents were still alive, we used to do all the Christmas things too – the lights and decorations and cookies and the tree, of course. We didn't go all out like Soobin likes to do, but we had fun. And some of those things, like putting up the lights and getting the tree, were the parts I loved most, because I got to do those with my Dad, just me and him. Lia was still too young, so it was always our thing." He smiles sadly. "I guess that's why all that Christmas cheer just makes me sad – it reminds me of what we used to have."

He falls silent for a moment, staring off into the distance, before he breaks his own silence with a laugh, short and embarrassed.

“I'm sorry, here I am going on about Christmases that are long gone...”

“Don't apologize, please. I... I'm glad that you shared this. It explains a lot.”

“It does?”

“About why you've been so set against the Christmas theme. In a way, you're doing the same thing I am, just taking a different approach: I'm trying to hold on to the Christmases I used to have, and you're trying not to be reminded of them.”

Another long glance, then a quiet, contemplative agreement: “Yeah. I guess that's it.” He should probably leave it at that – Kang Taehyun, he has learned by now, is not one to easily share his feelings, and he should be content with what he got so far. But now that he has allowed him this little bit of personal insight, he finds that he wants more.

"So, you don't celebrate Christmas at all?"

"Sure, I celebrate it. I usually spend the day itself with Hueningkai, provided neither of us has to work. And then there's the obligatory awful dinner at my aunt and uncle's that is basically them just listing all the ways they feel I've failed the family…" Beomgyu groans, because that sounds all too familiar, and Taehyun turns his head to look at him questioningly.

"Sounds like your Christmas experience isn't all that different from mine," he explains.

Taehyun's eyes widen in surprise.

"Wait, are you saying your Christmas isn't quite as magical as you claim?"

Beomgyu feels his lips tighten into a grim line, giving away his feelings before he can stop himself. "Not entirely. But that doesn't mean I can't at least try and make it magical, right?" Taehyun's expression softens, and Beomgyu's breath catches for a moment at how beautiful he looks like this, glowing under the fairy lights strung up on the balcony, and for once not glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, that you're not getting the perfect Christmas you want. You deserve it."

The words seem to hit him right in the chest, prompting an ache that isn't quite sadness or happiness but a little bit of both – mixed in with a whole lot of affection for the man before him. He's been making things so difficult for him with his “Christmas agenda” as he called it, and yet here he is, so earnestly sympathetic now that he knows what's behind it.

"I'm sorry too. For not listening, for pushing the whole Christmas theme on you… for calling you a monster..." He swallows nervously. "You know I didn't mean it, right? I know we bicker, but I would never seriously say something like that about you." "I know." Taehyun's expression is still soft and open, and there's even a small smile on his face.

And it is this small smile that makes him blurt out his next words.

"I actually think you're pretty great."

He can see his breath hitch, his eyes widen in surprise – but the sarcastic comeback he expects, the joke at his sudden, pathetically earnest declaration, does not come.

Unfortunately, neither does any other reaction, because the door behind them swings open and Yeonjun pops out his head. “Here you are! Are you coming back in? Because we're done setting up, so we should head to the restaurant for the dinner.” With that, he retreats – only to pop back out again a second later. “What are you even doing out here?”

Honestly, Beomgyu doesn't know. What were they doing, before he stumbled right into some clumsy declaration of... what, exactly? Feelings? He wasn't even aware he had feelings for him – but even if he does, that's how he chose to share them? Beomgyu has always prided himself on being pretty charming, quick with a compliment or a line that will win over hearts (or open zippers, at the very least). He does not get tongue-tied and awkwardly call a gorgeous man “pretty great”. It's just not his style – but then again, nothing is quite as it should be when Kang Taehyun is around, he's found.

“Guys?” Yeonjun prods, and Beomgyu tries to remember what his cousin was asking, and what he was about to respond. They were just talking, of course, about the reason Taehyun hates Christmas. A deeply personal reason – and something he doesn't think he'd want his cousin to know. “Going over some last-minute wedding stuff. We'll be right back inside.” Taehyun shoots him a grateful smile before turning towards Yeonjun and the door. “We're all done now, though. Let's go get dinner.”

* * *

Dinner goes off without a hitch – well, barring their uncles' self-aggrandizing speeches and his aunt trying to get Soobin to change the colour of the bridesmaids' dresses at the last minute – and by the time he says goodbye to Taehyun outside the restaurant, Beomgyu feels more optimistic about the wedding than ever. He's pretty sure that the other is still worried about the wedding though, because Taehyun's always worried about something, and he wants him to be just as optimistic, just as sure that they did a good job.

So, under the guise of being chivalrous and holding open the door for him, he steps towards him. He intends to say something reassuring – everything will go great, he has no reason to worry... something like that.

But then Taehyun turns towards him, fragrant curls swishing past his face as he moves, and brushes a kiss to his cheek, and suddenly he forgets everything he was planning to say.

“See you tomorrow, Choi.”

He's already in his car with the door slammed shut when it finally occurs to him to answer.

_“See you tomorrow.”_

* * *


	7. under the mistletoe

**BEOMGYU**

Tomorrow begins early due to wedding preparations – although not nearly as early as it does for Soobin's side of the wedding, judging by the fact that the first time Taehyun texts him is at 6 am, at which point Beomgyu still has plenty of time left to go right back to the last thing he was thinking about before he finally fell asleep last night: The fact that he might just have a bit of a crush on the Maid of Honour – as evidenced by his stunning declaration of “I think you're great” and the awkward, tongue-tied goodbye that followed it, complete with a flutter in his stomach when he kissed him (on the cheek!).

At least, a _crush_ is what he would have classified it as last night.

This morning, when he meets him in the church vestibule, he realizes he'll have to reclassify that. Because in the bridesmaid's outfit Soobin picked for him – a dark green silk shirt, with a white faux fur-shawl draped across his shoulders – Taehyun looks absolutely stunning. But really, what gets to him isn't the dress, or the hair – it's the way he smiles at him when he comes in, like he's actually glad to see him, and his stomach flips.

Then he shoves a box of programmes at him and tells him to set them out on the chairs, and just like that, things are back to normal.

Well, not _entirely_ normal – there's still the fact that he's falling for Kang Taehyun and has no idea how to deal with it. But they have a wedding to run, so that's what he'll focus on for the rest of the day.

It's a resolution he manages to stick to, which makes things a lot less awkward for the rest of the day (he even manages to forget about “I actually think you're pretty great”, which sounds more and more stupid every time he hears it replayed in his head).

By the time dinner is over and the couple are having their first dance, Beomgyu thinks he's done a pretty good job – together with Taehyun, of course, who's been bustling about all day, watching over everything like a hawk and pouncing on everyone who looks like they might put so much as one toe out of line. He still looks a little stressed out, even though everyone is behaving and there haven't even been any fights between members of their families. He needs to relax and let loose a little bit, he decides – and what better way to do that than by dancing?

But just when he's reached him and is about to ask him to dance, Beomgyu is interrupted by Jaemin popping up beside them, grinning broadly.

“Guess where you're standing?”, he singsongs, somewhat confusingly.

“By the dance floor?”, Beomgyu suggests, hoping this will allow him to transition into asking Taehyun to dance.

“True. But what are you standing under?”

He looks up and sees it at the same time Taehyun does, although he's a lot quicker to react.

“ _Mistletoe?_ I didn't approve mistletoe.”

“Well, there's nothing to _approve_ here – it's a Christmas tradition, this is a Christmas-themed wedding.” Jaemin explins, still grinning. “Obviously, there has to be mistletoe. And obviously, since you're the first two people caught under it...”

Beomgyu's stomach drops. He may have thought about this since last night (and maybe even before that, once or twice), but even if he doesn't object to the idea of kissing Kang Taehyun per se, he definitely objects to the thought of doing it now, as a joke, before an audience – mostly because he can't imagine Taehyun being particularly cool with it. But when he looks at Taehyun, trying to figure out how to refuse without making it seem like _he's_ the reason, he's smiling, calm as you please.

“ _Come on_ , Choi – let's get this over with then.”

It's definitely odd that he's not protesting, but before he can think about why that might be, Taehyun is already stepping closer, one hand on his shoulder as he leans in, and suddenly he's kissing him and that's about it for his rational thinking skills.

His kiss is soft but not shy – there's nothing _shy_ about Kang Taehyun – and most intriguingly, it's not the quick peck he'd expect, the cut-and-dry approach he thought he would take to “get this over with”. Instead it's slow, lips slightly parted, and he understands: It's an _invitation._ If he wants to, it tells him, he's welcome to make more of this kiss.

He doesn't even have to think about it: The moment he understands Taehyun's invitation, he's pulling him close to take him up on it, in a way that leaves no doubt about the fact that he very much wants to make more of this kiss.

It doesn't last long – they do have an audience after all – just long enough that when he pulls back, it is to find Taehyun looking at him with hooded eyes, his gaze heavy on him and his fingers flexing (involuntarily?) where they're still resting on his shoulder.

Beside them, Jaemin claps his hands, and Taehyun jumps and draws back his hand.

"Wonderful! Now we can all dance and be merry."

With that, everyone who gathered around them to watch and cheer disperses again, leaving the two of them to stand awkwardly before each other – until Jaemin returns once more to continue his meddling by giving them each a shove on the back that makes them stumble forward.

"I said _dance!_ "

He has that look on his face that tells Beomgyu he'll get his way no matter the protest, and Beomgyu holds out his hand for Taehyun to take.

"Shall we? I don't think we'll get this one off our backs otherwise."

Taehyun laughs, and Beomgyu feels an unexpected flutter of relief. He may have been okay with kissing him, but he realizes now that he was still afraid he'd want to get as far away from him as possible afterwards.

But instead of fleeing, Taehyun takes the other’s hand and lays his other hand on his shoulder, and when Beomgyu pulls him close by the small of his back, he yields easily and lets him lead him into a slow waltz.

" _Frosted windowpanes, candles gleaming inside_..." the singer starts a slower, softer take on the cheerful classic, and Beomgyu briefly wonders if he'll get away with just staying quiet for the duration of the song.

Probably not.

"I'm sorry about the mistletoe," he begins, sure that his palms are getting sweatier by the second. "I swear I had nothing to do with it."

Taehyun remains silent for a moment, just long enough to make him think he's pissed about the mistletoe after all. And then, presumably just to make his heart stop entirely, he looks up and says:

_"I'm not... sorry."_

He's still processing that statement when he adds:

"It was nice."

He should be offended that his kissing skills are being rated "nice" - but considering Taehyun's high standards for everything, he'll gladly take "nice". In fact, he thinks, suddenly feeling reckless, he'll take “nice” and run with it and see where it gets them.

"Nice enough to want to do it again?"

His heart is beating madly in his chest while he waits for his reply.

"Unless there's some bridesmaid you intended to hook up with....", Taehyun suggests coyly, knowing full well that there isn't.

"No," he cuts him off, breathless with excitement, "no, there's absolutely no one else."

And before he can tease him any more, he takes Taehyun’s hand and pulls him out the nearest exit, the one that led them to the balcony last night.

" _It's that time of year when the world falls in love_...", the music continues, before the door falls shut behind them and it becomes unintelligible, no more than a warble in the background.

Beomgyu pulls him just a little further outside, out of view from the window, and just like that, they're alone.

"Oh, you meant right now," Taehyun comments, again with that mischievous glint in his eyes that is quickly turning into his most delightful discovery about him – but his voice sounds just a little breathless, and Beomgyu takes it as a sign that he's not as cool as he pretends to be either.

"No time like the present, right?"

“Yeah,” Taehyun breathes. “No time like the present.”

But if he expected him to go all in now, Beomgyu was wrong: Taehyun stays in place for a moment, his hand playing with his collar as he looks at him, searching, and for a moment he's afraid that Taehyun's regretting his decision to do this. Then he leans in and lets his lips brush over his, a ghost of a touch until it turns firmer, more decided, and he understands: He's taking his time. They had an audience before, after all, but now they're all alone, with no one looking for them (he hopes) and no old prejudices standing in their way. The party inside that they worked for so hard may be about their cousins, but this quiet little moment is about _them_. They can savour every second of it – and that's exactly what they do, slowly and softly and then more and more passionately, until Taehyun ends up pressed against the cold wall, his arms around his back pulling him flush against him.

When he breaks away, briefly and with inhuman effort, he looks dazed and out of breath, his hair escaping from its updo and his chest rising and falling rapidly. He looks sexy and radiant and Beomgyu can't believe his luck that he's here, with him, right now.

“I take it you still don't regret standing unter that mistletoe?”

His eyes flash and he expects a sharp comeback for his teasing – but instead, he only shrugs “Nope!” and pulls him in for another kiss.

They only get back inside when not even Beomgyu's chivalrously offered jacket is enough to keep Taehyun from shivering in his thin dress shirt, and for a moment, Beomgyu is afraid that that will be it: They'll be swept up again in some wedding-related issue, and then they'll go home and all this night will ever be is another wedding where they made out with some random person they'll never speak to again – and that is the last thing Beomgyu wants.

Luckily, it looks like Taehyun doesn't want that either. He pulls him back to the dance floor, and once they've danced until they're warmed up again, he finds them some drinks and a nice, quiet corner, and before he knows it, they're huddled together, nursing their drinks and watching Yeonjun and Soobin dance slowly, blissful smiles on their faces and the rest of the world completely forgotten.

"We really pulled it off," Taehyun observes, awe in his voice."

"I didn't doubt us for a second."

Taehyun's raised eyebrow clearly conveys his skepticism.

"Right."

"I mean, it was a little touch and go when you walked out on me. But I never doubted you – from the moment I first saw you with that gigantic folder and your determined face on, I knew you'd pull it off."

"Well, I had help."

"We did make a pretty good team, didn't we?"

Taehyun smiles in confirmation, which is probably what prompts his next words.

"We should keep that up."

"Are you saying you want to go into wedding planning with me?"

"Well, maybe not professionally. But there might be some other events we could set up."

"Like what?"

"Like... Christmas?" Taehyun's brow crinkles in confusion, and he explains hastily: "Yeonjun and Soobin have been talking about putting together their own Christmas dinner so they can celebrate without their parents killing each other. We could join them. Hueningkai and Jaemin could come too, and we could have a Christmas of our own. It won't be the same as what you and Lia used to have, but I promise it will be better than dinner at your aunt and uncle's."

Taehyun doesn't answer, simply staring at him for way too long, and Beomgyu suddenly feels stupid. What the hell was he thinking, springing this on him? They just kissed for the first time, and suddenly he's suggesting they spend Christmas together? That he could replace the family he's lost? How ridiculously presumptuous!

"I mean, you don't have to decide right away. It was just…"

He doesn't get any further, because Taehyun is leaning over and cutting him off with another kiss.

"I'd like that. And it doesn't have to be the _exact_ same way it used to be – I'm probably remembering it through rose-tinted glasses anyway. We can make our own traditions, pick whatever we like to do."

Beomgyu is stunned. Not only is he agreeing to his spur-of-the-moment idea, but he likes it so much he wants to turn it into a tradition? That's... A lot more than he thought he'd get out of this conversation. It makes him giddily happy, so much that he gets perhaps a little overexcited.

" _Whatever_ we want?"

"What are you thinking?

"I'm thinking as our centerpiece for the dinner table we could get an ice sculpture. Perhaps chiseled after a photo of the six of us..."

For a moment, Taehyun stares at him silently, then he laughs, apparently deciding to treat his suggestion as nothing more than a joke.

"How about we start planning the actual dinner, and once that is done and you still have the time and the energy, you get to work on that ice sculpture?"

He pats his knee softly, a patronising gesture clearly meant to suggest that he doesn't believe he's serious and thus doesn't consider it worth his time to stop him.

Which is how he commits one big mistake: Taehyun doesn't _actually_ say no. Not to him, not to the idea of celebrating Christmas together, and not even to his plans for another ice sculpture.

Beomgyu smiles softly to himself. He'll let Taehyun decide how he wants their Christmas dinner to go – but he might just add a little bit of a personal touch.

* * *


	8. ode to the fallen ice sculpture

**TAEHYUN**

On Christmas Eve, Taehyun opens the door of his apartment to find Beomgyu standing outside in a Christmas sweater that can only be described as “blindingly festive”. And yet, the sweater is not the thing that captures his attention: What really makes him freeze in place is what Beomgyu is holding in his hands: A lapdog-sized ice sculpture of... a man?

Taehyun can only stare at it silently while Beomgyu holds it out for him to study, beaming proudly.

“It's supposed to be you! I made it myself.”

Taehyun is still processing that bit of information when he adds:

“It was the most beautiful thing I could think of.” His smile turns soft, almost bashful – but only for a moment, before it turns apologetic. “It's also starting to melt, so I hope you have a big freezer.”

This, Taehyun thinks, this is why he's falling for him a little more each day: The fact that he can say something impossibly romantic even while he's in the process of making life difficult for him.

Still, for the past weeks since Yeonjun and Soobin's wedding, the sweet, funny, irresistible side of him has definitely outweighed his penchant for irritating him. Beomgyu has brought an onslaught of Christmas spirit into his life, sandwiches to his office for lunch and long, delicious evenings spent making out on the sofa into his usually empty apartment, and now that he has, he doesn't know how he used to be content without those things before.

All things considered, teaming up with Choi Beomgyu has only led to good things so far – so maybe he should trust his instincts on this one too, and just let him have the stupid ice sculpture.

By the time he regrets that decision because the statue has melted and flooded his kitchen while they were all in the living-room exchanging presents, Taehyun is too drunk on eggnog and happiness to even be mad. All it takes for him to forgive Beomgyu is a promise that he'll mop everything up himself, followed by one of those damned addictive kisses.

_He'll hold on to him, for now – at least until next Christmas._

* * *

**THE END !**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE <3**


End file.
